Search results

An infinite element based on the doubly asymptotic approximation (DAA) for use in finite element analysis of fluid—structure interactions is presented. Fluid finite elements model the region near the solid. Infinite elements account for the effects of the outer fluid on the inner region. The DAA‐based infinite elements involve an approximate calculation of the added mass using static mapped infinite elements, plus a consistent damping term. Simple test analyses for a range of fluid properties demonstrate the performance of the solution technique. The analyses of a Helmholtz resonator (open pipe) and a circular plate in water indicate the practical use of the solution approach.

This paper analyses the extent to which public sector (PS) and non-profit (NP) organisations' reports and reporting processes adopt an IR framework as model of dialogical accountings and accountability (DAA) for dialogue with stakeholders.

The paper provides an overview of accountings and accountability in PS and NP organisations. The concept of dialogical communication with stakeholders is studied. The theoretical framework of DAA is supported by empirical investigation through the case studies of two organisations, one PS and one NP organisation. To contextualize findings from the case study, Estonian private schools' published management reports were analysed to explore integrated reporting (IR) elements. The paper ends with discussion and conclusions.

NP and PS aimed to improve their reporting practices. Reporting in the PS organisation were based on traditional accounting and accountability models which work in stable and non-competitive environment. IR, as a format for DAA, could bring added value to the PSO, but the mechanisms to make it work are missing. The NP organisations were already spontaneously practising some IR elements. After learning about IR, the NP organisation committed to IR principles and benefited from its guidelines. Implementing IR together with the concepts of dialogical communication, the organisations could create and benefit from better cooperation with their stakeholders both internally and externally.

The case study research does not allow for generalisation of the results, which are limited to the case organisations' context and based on their management's subjective opinions. The limitation of qualitative content analysis as a research method in current study, is its possible subjectivity. The limitation is represented by the fact that only one year's data was for analysis.

This paper can be useful to any PS or NP institution willing to enhance its public accountability and developing dialogue with stakeholders for creation and innovation. This study serves to inform organisations that are searching for ways to improve awareness of IR for communication and co-creation purposes.

This study could help in defining the framework for a larger scale IR-related study in finding trends in PS and NP organisations. The study is a platform for exploring the aspects of developing dialogue with different stakeholders of IR implementation and application process.

The conceptual novelty of the research lies in connecting IRF and dialogical communication concept. The focus is to understand how IR expedites dialogical communication in light of IR framework. In current paper, we observe the presence of IR elements in public sector and non-profit sector organisations' reports.

The enshrinement of R v Brown within section 71 Domestic Abuse Act 2021 was celebrated by campaign group ‘We Can’t Consent To This’ (WCCTT) as a means of combating the rough sex defence, and as a victory for women. Yet the practical limitations of this codification suggests that there is more to this claimed victory. In this chapter I suggest that the symbolic effect of the codification of Brown underpinned WCCTT’s celebration, as for the first time the legal treatment of sadomasochistic sex (‘SM sex’) became interwoven with, and inflected by, legislation seeking to target abuse. This approach, influenced by the traditions of radical feminism, represents a departure from a liberal legal method and, I argue, forecloses productive legal reform. In affirming the contemporary relevance of Brown, a case infamously mired in homophobia, the legal harm of SM sex is both improperly considered and improperly addressed. Further, by stitching together Brown and the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the law fails to articulate what distinguishes SM sexual practice and abuse. This analysis does not prevent my agreeing that SM sex poses significant challenges to the operation of justice. To conclude, I propose that an approach which seeks to bolster the competence of the court via education, and that distinguishes breathplay from the otherwise monolithic treatment of SM sex (building on section 70 Domestic Abuse Act 2021) will generate better outcomes for both sexual diversity and those who experience gender-based violence.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether firm efficiency can explain the investment anomaly. The investment anomaly refers to the persistent negative relation between firm growth and future risk-adjusted returns. When firms grow by investing heavily, the market often takes the growth as positive news initially but will correct prices downward subsequently if the firms lack skills to materialize value from the investments.

The author conducts portfolio sorting and Fama–Macbeth regression analyses with three different measures of efficiency and four variables for firm investment: net stock issuance (NSI), total asset growth (dAA), fixed asset and inventory growth (IA) and net operating assets (NOA).

The author finds that the NSI, dAA and IA anomalies are concentrated in firms with low overall efficiency. In addition, there is strong evidence that manager-driven efficiency is closely related to the NSI anomaly and limited evidence that NOA efficiency plays a role in the NSI, IA and NOA anomalies.

The research contributes to the literature by employing advanced efficiency measures developed by Demerjian et al. (2012) to resolve extant asset pricing puzzles. Also, the findings offer important implications for corporate managers and investors by demonstrating the effect of firm investments and efficiency on future profitability of stocks.

In many countries there is emerging concern regarding alliances between the pharmaceutical industry and health non‐profit organizations (NPOs), and the increase of co‐sponsored marketing activities such as disease awareness advertising. The current study aims to explore Australian women's perceptions of disease awareness advertising with differing sponsors, to determine whether their attitudes towards the sponsor and their reported behavioural intentions differ as a function of the perceived sponsor or co‐sponsor.

Older women (aged 50+) were approached by mall‐intercept method in a metropolitan area in New South Wales, Australia. Consenting participants were randomly assigned an advertisement with an NPO sponsor, pharmaceutical company sponsor, or a combination of the two (co‐sponsored). Each participant viewed advertisements for two health conditions (fibromyalgia and osteopenia) with the same sponsor manipulation, and completed a one‐page questionnaire after reading each advertisement.

Participants had significantly more positive attitudes towards the NPO‐sponsored advertisement than the pharmaceutical company‐sponsored advertisement or the co‐sponsored advertisement. Participants with more positive attitudes towards the sponsor were significantly more likely to report an intention to take action, such as to look for more information or to talk to their doctor.

The results suggest that an NPO‐sponsored advertisement promoting awareness about a disease or health condition is more effective without the co‐sponsorship of a pharmaceutical company.

This is the only identified research into attitudes towards sponsors of disease awareness advertising that considers pharmaceutical companies and health NPOs and is important, given the increasing trend of disease advertising and cause‐related marketing in Australia and internationally.

Introducing technology at work presents a special challenge as learning is tightly integrated with workplace practices. Current design-based research (DBR) methods are focused on formal learning context and often questioned for a lack of yielding traceable research insights. This paper aims to propose a method that extends DBR by understanding tools as sociocultural artefacts, co-designing affordances and systematically studying their adoption in practice.

The iterative practice-centred method allows the co-design of cognitive tools in DBR, makes assumptions and design decisions traceable and builds convergent evidence by consistently analysing how affordances are appropriated. This is demonstrated in the context of health-care professionals’ informal learning, and how they make sense of their experiences. The authors report an 18-month DBR case study of using various prototypes and testing the designs with practitioners through various data collection means.

By considering the cognitive level in the analysis of appropriation, the authors came to an understanding of how professionals cope with pressure in the health-care domain (domain insight); a prototype with concrete design decisions (design insight); and an understanding of how memory and sensemaking processes interact when cognitive tools are used to elaborate representations of informal learning needs (theory insight).

The method is validated in one long-term and in-depth case study. While this was necessary to gain an understanding of stakeholder concerns, build trust and apply methods over several iterations, it also potentially limits this.

Besides generating traceable research insights, the proposed DBR method allows to design technology-enhanced learning support for working domains and practices. The method is applicable in other domains and in formal learning.

Most literature on workflow (WF) adaptation considered the control flow correctness like absence of dead lock, live-lock, etc. during adaptation. The data aspect of WF adaptation like data flow, database schema changes and their correctness are less studied. When the WF schema is modified, their data flow and the database schema changes. The existing approaches used for adapting these data changes in the underlying database schema are time consuming and/or affect the old data persistence. The purpose of this paper is to concern the dynamic adaptation of the WF schema and implementing its data changes in the existing database schema.

A conceptual framework developed to adapt on-the-fly, the concomitant data changes during WF adaptation. The framework consists a set of data schema compliance criteria (DSC) which identify the data changes that can be directly accommodated in the existing database schema. Data adaptation algorithm (DAA) is developed to handle the data changes that does not conform to the DSC in the existing database schema.

In this approach the existing database schema is dynamically evolved without re-creating it, after WF schema adaptation. Therefore the WF schema changes can be implemented on-the-fly without stopping the running system. It also ensures the persistence of old data residing in the existing database.

A novel approach developed to adapt the data changes in the existing database schema, without requiring recreation or migration the data. This automated consistency checking of data attribute changes in the database schema and implement them dynamically.

The aim of this paper is to explore the factors that influence buyer decision-making in public procurement. The objective is to better understand the processes and conditions that support different supply arrangements, which maximise SME participation.

The paper uses case study evidence of contract awards across multiple organisational contexts including: a local authority, commercial semi-state, police force, and a tourist agency.

National policy and the role of procurement exerted mixed effects upon the cases. The procurement processes were broadly similar and included cross-functional teams, consideration of trade-offs and market research.

The paper highlights the transition of public organisations toward strategic procurement including supplier engagement.

This offers buyers a decision support tool that promotes equal opportunities for SME participation, a key goal of EU procurement. The implications for suppliers of each buying decision are also outlined. The concept of practical rationality is used to support the framework.

A normative framework of public procurement decision-making is generated from the cases. Buying complexity and supplier engagement are two conditions that support a 2×2 decision framework. The framework extends efficient and central-buying decisions to include adapted and balanced decisions. This range offers buyers a decision support tool that promotes equal opportunities for SME participation, a key goal of EU procurement. The implications for suppliers of each buying decision are discussed.